Summary

Hand made marionette depicting the mythical Lepricorn character. It was manufactured and operated in Melbourne by Alex and Murray Smith, who performed as part of Le Forgeron Marionettes from 1930 until 1956.

Physical Description

Marionette depicting a lepricorn, who is wearing a long green jacket which is in good condition. The hat is made of the same type of fabric, but is a lighter shade. He has a blue belt with buckle which is loose at the back, and mid-length brown pants. His feet are made like the other puppets but has black vinyl nailed around his ankles, to form a boot. The lepricorn has painted red legs and large orange hands which are slightly chipped. His head remains intact and there is only slight damage to the paintwork. He still has most of his white hair and beard. His large, pointy, brown ears are made of leather and nailed to the sides of his head. He has bead eyes which hang from a small piece of string. The lepricorn has a very long neck made from a cylindrical piece of wood which fits inside his head and up into his hat- so the head can be raised to various heights. Unlike the other lepricorns, he has to hooks attached to his head with string running through them- purpose unknown. He has mechanism which consists of three pieces of wood. There are operating strings attached to numerous parts of him, including his head, limbs and shoulders. The feet have been weighted

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